McClure, commissioners lobby for changes

Published: Monday, February 4, 2013 at 12:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, February 1, 2013 at 4:05 p.m.

Absorbing state transportation responsibilities would totally drain Davidson County, said Fred McClure, chairman of the Davidson County Board of Commissioners.

Facts

NCACC top five 2013-14 legislative goals

• Oppose shift of state transportation responsibilities to counties.• Reinstate Average Daily Membership (ADM) and lottery funds for school construction.• Oppose unfunded mandates and shifts of state responsibilities to counties.• Ensure adequate mental health funding.• Preserve the existing local revenue base.

Last week, McClure was one of about 100 voting representatives who voiced opposition to making county governments responsible for funding road construction and maintenance at the Legislative Goals Conference hosted by the N.C. Association of County Commissioners.

Opposing the shift of state transportation responsibilities emerged as the top legislative priority during the conference, which is held every two years preceding a long session of the General Assembly.

"We don't want responsibility for the roads, because we don't feel like we will get the money to go with it," McClure said.

Two legislators introduced Senate Bill 758 in 2009, which would remove secondary roads from the state highway system and transfer construction and maintenance responsibilities to county governments. The NCACC estimates that handing off those duties would cost counties more than $500 million annually.

Officials for the NCACC argued that unlike counties in other states, whose traditional funding responsibilities are secondary roads, North Carolina counties are responsible for the administration of local human services programs and fund educational operating and capital expenses.

"Nothing could be worse than the state turning that responsibility over to the counties," said Davidson County Commissioner Larry Potts. "Almost all of our roads connect to some other county or major state highway. They aren't just our roads."

At 552.68 square miles, Davidson County ranks at about the 31st largest county in North Carolina, according to U.S. Census records.

"We're a large county, can you imagine how much we'd have to raise taxes to handle all the roads in the county?" Potts said.

The remaining top five legislative goals were: reinstating Average Daily Membership funds and state lottery proceeds for school construction, opposing unfunded mandates, ensuring adequate mental health funding, and preserving the existing local revenue base.

The NCACC estimates counties have lost nearly half a billion dollars in school construction funds since 2009, when the General Assembly started redirecting or reducing funding from the ADM Fund, a set-aside from the corporate income tax, and the N.C. Education Lottery to manage the budget crunch.

"They pretty much took that money away from us, and we want them to reinstate that money," McClure said. "We never have gotten all of the money designated for school construction from the lottery anyway."

Davidson County used the last amount of its held ADM funds, which are distributed based on the average daily membership in each county, to partially fund the new Oak Grove Middle School, said Zeb Hanner, Davidson County's assistant county manager.

The county anticipated receiving about $1.6 million in state lottery funding this fiscal year, Hanner said. If included in the state budget, Davidson County would receive an additional $1.2 to $1.5 million in ADM funds annually, based on historical data.

Building a new high school in the northern area of the county remains the top priority of the Davidson County Schools Board of Education. The projected cost for construction is about $45 million.

Davidson County has been fairly successful in helping introduce locally relevant legislation in recent years. Commissioners lobbied representatives to file two bills in 2012, which granted commissioners power over future annexation requests and enabled the county to use design-build method of construction.

"We get paid a minimal salary, and the bigger lobbyists get paid hundreds of thousands of dollars," Potts said. "The difference between us and them is that we also represent the people that the (legislators) were elected to represent, and we have much more daily contact with them and a relationship with them."

Nash Dunn can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 227, or at nash.dunn@the-dispatch.com.

<p>Absorbing state transportation responsibilities would totally drain Davidson County, said Fred McClure, chairman of the Davidson County Board of Commissioners.</p><p>Last week, McClure was one of about 100 voting representatives who voiced opposition to making county governments responsible for funding road construction and maintenance at the Legislative Goals Conference hosted by the N.C. Association of County Commissioners.</p><p>Opposing the shift of state transportation responsibilities emerged as the top legislative priority during the conference, which is held every two years preceding a long session of the General Assembly.</p><p>"We don't want responsibility for the roads, because we don't feel like we will get the money to go with it," McClure said.</p><p>Two legislators introduced Senate Bill 758 in 2009, which would remove secondary roads from the state highway system and transfer construction and maintenance responsibilities to county governments. The NCACC estimates that handing off those duties would cost counties more than $500 million annually. </p><p>Officials for the NCACC argued that unlike counties in other states, whose traditional funding responsibilities are secondary roads, North Carolina counties are responsible for the administration of local human services programs and fund educational operating and capital expenses.</p><p>"Nothing could be worse than the state turning that responsibility over to the counties," said Davidson County Commissioner Larry Potts. "Almost all of our roads connect to some other county or major state highway. They aren't just our roads." </p><p>At 552.68 square miles, Davidson County ranks at about the 31st largest county in North Carolina, according to U.S. Census records.</p><p>"We're a large county, can you imagine how much we'd have to raise taxes to handle all the roads in the county?" Potts said.</p><p>The remaining top five legislative goals were: reinstating Average Daily Membership funds and state lottery proceeds for school construction, opposing unfunded mandates, ensuring adequate mental health funding, and preserving the existing local revenue base.</p><p>The NCACC estimates counties have lost nearly half a billion dollars in school construction funds since 2009, when the General Assembly started redirecting or reducing funding from the ADM Fund, a set-aside from the corporate income tax, and the N.C. Education Lottery to manage the budget crunch.</p><p>"They pretty much took that money away from us, and we want them to reinstate that money," McClure said. "We never have gotten all of the money designated for school construction from the lottery anyway."</p><p>Davidson County used the last amount of its held ADM funds, which are distributed based on the average daily membership in each county, to partially fund the new Oak Grove Middle School, said Zeb Hanner, Davidson County's assistant county manager.</p><p>The county anticipated receiving about $1.6 million in state lottery funding this fiscal year, Hanner said. If included in the state budget, Davidson County would receive an additional $1.2 to $1.5 million in ADM funds annually, based on historical data. </p><p>Building a new high school in the northern area of the county remains the top priority of the Davidson County Schools Board of Education. The projected cost for construction is about $45 million. </p><p>Davidson County has been fairly successful in helping introduce locally relevant legislation in recent years. Commissioners lobbied representatives to file two bills in 2012, which granted commissioners power over future annexation requests and enabled the county to use design-build method of construction.</p><p>"We get paid a minimal salary, and the bigger lobbyists get paid hundreds of thousands of dollars," Potts said. "The difference between us and them is that we also represent the people that the (legislators) were elected to represent, and we have much more daily contact with them and a relationship with them."</p><p>Nash Dunn can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 227, or at nash.dunn@the-dispatch.com.</p>